Dave Whelan might have played for Man City before but he is absolutely eager to help Stoke City beat his former employers tomorrow.

Glenn Whelan was part of City's youth academy set-up during their time at Maine's road last time but his short tenure under Kevin Keegan never materialized and Whelan was imminently offloaded on a free transfer to Sheffield Wednesday.

Now, Whelan's desire to overcome his former employers in tomorrow's FA Cup final is absolutely on fire although he did admit to keeping in touch with their results and news.

"It was coming up to the end of the season, I'd been out on loan and got a taste for it. There was interest from Sheffield Wednesday and Kevin Keegan said he didn't think I was going to break in this year or next year so the best thing would be to go out and play games.

"It hurt. I was still only 20, 21. I thought I was going to be with Man City and be playing for them but it didn't work out like that. I was there for six years and loved it. When I left I always used to look out for their results. But it's different now. It would be good to get one over on them."